When Derek Berns took over as USD 435 Athletic Director August 1, it marked the first change at that position since 2005. Will Burton stepped down this past school years after 20 years as AHS A.D. and assistant principal and 31 years of service overall with District 435.
Berns, an Abilene native, graduated from AHS in 2002. During his time as a Cowboy, he was a multi-sport athlete, competing in football, basketball, and tennis. His Senior year, he captured a State Championship, in doubles, in tennis. His passion for his current position started at a young age. For his Senior Project, he focused on becoming an Athletic Director and helped the A.D. at the time, Brian Rowley, organize a Freshman Basketball Tournament.
The next stop was Fort Hays State University. Berns studied Physical Education with his ultimate goal to be an A.D. He completed his student teaching at Abilene High School and Garfield Elementary under Jeff Geist and Troy Emig, while also helping as an assistant football coach under Geist and assistant boys basketball coach for Mark Willey. He graduated from FHSU in 2006.
His first teaching jobs were at Montgomery City, Missouri and Jackson Heights, in Holton, Kansas. In 2008, Berns was hired as the P.E. teacher at Chapman Middle School. In his 7 years at Chapman, he coached nearly everything, including Head M.S. Football, Head M.S. Girls and Boys Basketball, Head M.S. Track, and Head H.S. Boys and Girls Tennis. Under his guidance, the girls tennis program became a State contender, producing multiple State placers and an NCKL Championship during his 4 years as Head Coach. In 2013, he was named Kansas 4A Girls Tennis Coach of the Year.
The hire for Abilene was inhouse as Berns had been working at Abilene Middle School since 2015. He initially taught P.E. and coached. In 2018, he took over as A.D. and Assistant Principal. He was recognized for his work at AMS when he was named the 2019 Kansas Middle School PE Teacher of the Year, and five years later as the 2024 Kansas Middle School Athletic Director of the Year.
Bern’s duties will differ slightly than his predecessor. He will not have Assistant Principal duties, rather he will serve in the new role as District Athletic Director. In that role, he will be the A.D. for AMS, AHS and even help out with the grade school youth sports programs. He believes in building vertically aligned sports programs, building a youth sports committee and is in the process of developing a “One Program” mindset from grades 3-12, which is rooted in the department’s core values of Commitment, Effort and Teamwork.
August 18 marks the start of fall practice. Please go to the school calendar for the upcoming schedule on sporting events https://www.abileneschools.org/o/aps/page/calendars.
